B U L L E T I N

PLEASE VISIT www.CenterforPluralism.com for all information - Please note that this site was Foundation for Pluralism before

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Tarrant County clinic provides health, dental and emotional care.


This is the America you will come to love, where each one of us is serving the needy with blinders on, just service to Americans. Dallas is blessed with two clinics that serve the people without insurance. One is located in the Dallas County at the Central Mosque in Richardson and the other in Mid cities. Here is a story of the one in Tarrant county Clinic initiated by Dr. Basheer Ahmed and the other one was an initiative of Dr. Amer Shakil. Once the America together foundation takes off, we will be a hub to promote such stories coming from every American to give hope to each one of the 312 Million of us - Mike Ghouse

Dallas Morning News published a small article on Al-Shifa Clinic. Please see below

Tarrant County clinic provides health, dental and emotional care
RICHLAND HILLS — Inside the Al-Shifa Medical Clinic, Alma Arellano slides into a dental chair with a painful molar that needs immediate care.

The woman, who lacks health insurance, gets help at the clinic from an all-volunteer crew — dentist Sam Roach; his physician-wife, Pam Roach; and Rana Malik, a dental assistant in training.

This charity clinic takes an Arabic name that means the “healing place” and was started in 1998 to serve the growing Muslim immigrant and refugee population. It now serves a number of Spanish-speaking residents as well. It has earned the distinction as one of the few charity clinics in Texas that includes medical and dental care and mental health services.

The load is increasing at charity clinics like this and clinics more narrowly focused on basic medical care.

The Texas unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent because of new job creation in November. But many new jobs don’t come with health insurance for the patient or carry premiums so high some families perform financial triage, deciding to forgo insurance in favor of food or housing, say clinic and medical trade group officials.

“People may be getting jobs, but they are not getting health insurance,” said Jody Hopkins, the executive director of the Austin-based Lone. Star Association of Charitable Clinics.
The founder of the Al-Shifa Medical Clinic is psychiatrist Basheer Ahmed, a native of Hyderabad, India, who came to teach at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. In 1995 as Bosnians and Somalis settled in the area, Ahmed received a phone call to organize help. Soon a help line was established in the garage of his home, and it blossomed into the Muslim Community Center for Human Services.

Within a few years, the center’s medical clinic was added. Muslim women there can expect to have their cultural preference met for female health care providers.
Today, it includes counseling, domestic violence intervention and a dental clinic and draws clients from Fort Worth to Irving and the suburbs in between.
Each new patient is asked to make a $20 donation for medical care. There are discounted fees for some other services such as lab work and dentistry.
The medical clinic alone expects about 1,800 patient visits this year, up from about 1,200 last year. The dental clinic expects about 250 patient visits this year.
Other services have covered about 165 people who came for counseling for domestic violence. Al-Shifa has received a grant for such outreach under provisions of the federal Violence Against Women Act. Inside one of the offices in the medical complex, posters read: “Islam is peace and wife abuse destroys peace.”
Finding volunteers is a specialty for Ahmed, who gives potential recruits from all faiths — Muslim, Hindi or Christian — a “serve humanity” pitch.
“You charge fees, but you are happy to see them get better,” he said. “Here we are seeing people with no money, but you will get more pleasure because they have no other place to go. When you see the appreciation on their face, it will make your day.”
Dr. Pam Roach also said the volunteer work is rewarding. “They are desperate, and you feel you are really giving.”
Her dentist-husband said the need is so high that some patients will have three to five extractions done, if that is what’s called for. Recently, he donated his dental equipment to give a stronger base to the Al-Shifa dentistry practice — one of the more complicated and expensive services for a charity clinic to provide.
Arellano, the Mexico-born patient, gets home care instructions from a Spanish-speaking volunteer. It’s her third visit, she said, adding that the services are “really good,” as she cradles a young daughter in her arms. She looks swollen but relieved.
In Farmers Branch at the Metrocrest Family Services Clinic, another charity clinic, Jane Hawkins praises the work of Al-Shifa. This year, services at Metrocrest jumped to about 4,000 visits from 1,000 last year, after the clinic was funded for a full-time physician under a program known as Project Access Dallas. It is run by the Dallas County Medical Society.
Still, Metrocrest doesn’t provide the health care trio of dentistry, mental health services and medical care, Hawkins said.
“We don’t provide dental services, and it is one of the most pressing needs,” Hawkins said. “It is amazing to see all three in their clinic.”

Cyclists Rally for Religious Freedom at City Hall Jan. 2, 2012

We welcome the Japanese Americans bike riders at Dallas city Hall to highlight an issue that we should all think about.   As global citizens we need to commit ourselves to building cohesive societies in which no one has to live in anxiety, apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. This is what all of the spiritual masters wanted to do, and precisely what Jesus wanted to do; to create the Kingdom of Heaven.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Laura Lea

media relations HSA UWC

Unification Church of Texas

Phone: (281) 772-4116

E-Mail: district9ffwp@gmail.com



Doug Burton

media consultant

Phone: 202 203 9883

E-Mail: dougburton51@yahoo,com

Friday, December 30, 2011
Clergy and Muslim Leaders Welcome Rally for Religious Freedom at City Hall
(Dallas) Mr. Mike Ghouse, president of the Foundation for Pluralism, and a Muslim leader, has endorsed the Faith, Freedom and Family Tour rally at Dallas City Hall on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012. Mr. Ghouse, a columnist for the Dallas Morning News, joins local civic and religious leaders, including TV talk show host Ester Davis, as well as Japanese-Americans wearing Japanese kimonos, who will be on hand to welcome two university students stopping in Dallas during a 2,300-mile bicycle ride to raise awareness about the Japanese treatment of minorities. The rally will take place Monday at 10:00 a.m. at the flag poles in front of Dallas City Hall.

The goal of the tour is to raise public awareness of the fact that since 1966 more than 4,000 Unification Church members in Japan, as well as significant numbers of members of other faiths, have been abducted and confined for months or years of psychological and physical abuse in an effort to break their faith. Mr. Luke Higuchi, a Japanese survivor of abduction and forced conversion, will report his experience at the rally.

Mr. Ghouse recently has written: 

“We in Dallas welcome these bike riders who highlight an issue that we should all think about. As global citizens we need to commit ourselves to building cohesive societies in which no one has to live in anxiety, apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. This is what all of the spiritual masters wanted to do. This is what Jesus wanted to do, to create the Kingdom of Heaven.”

As has been reported on Examiner.com and elsewhere, two young scholars of Japanese and American descent, Mr. Seijin Tranberg and Mr. Joshua Wildman, both 22, began their Freedom Ride on December 15, 2011 in Atlanta, the birthplace of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, under the banner of “Faith, Freedom, and Family.” Prior to starting their tour, Mr. Tranberg briefed twelve congressmen at their offices on Capitol Hill. All 12, representing states from Georgia to California, expressed support for persecuted religious people of the world by signing Mr. Tranberg’s route map and posing with him for photographs

Some freedoms U.S. citizens take for granted are established by law within the borders of other countries but are still emerging in practice. In Japan, for example, religious freedom is guaranteed in its constitution, but Japanese authorities have not yet acted to prevent and prosecute violent crimes committed in the name of faith-breaking, perpetrated against members of minority faiths. Mr. Tranberg also is calling the rally to raise awareness of the rights abuses against religious minorities the world over, including Baptists in Russia, Coptic Christians in Nigeria, Bahai’s in Iran, and many others.


Both Tranberg and Wildman have Japanese mothers and American Fathers. They also share membership in a persecuted minority faith, that of the Unification Church, founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Representatives of several persecuted minority groups, including Nigerian Christians, Hindus, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Sikhs, Scientologists and others have been invited to participate. The rally celebrating their stop here in Dallas, at City Hall Plaza, already has sparked supportive comment from local leaders. Rev. Don E. Peavy, Sr., Associate Minister, New Vision Christian Church in Fort Worth has written:

“We wish Seijin and Joshua Godspeed in their momentous adventure to spread the Gospel of the common bond we all share as children of God. Their mission is particularly critical at this moment given the mass killings in Ethiopia on Christmas Day and the religious insensitivity and intolerance which continue to keep far too many people from living the abundant life for which Jesus the Christ came into the world.”

The two bike riders will pedal out of Dallas Monday, January 2, and head west, to arrive in Los Angeles by Jan 29, 2012. Along the way they will be greeted by clergy, human-rights activists and well-wishers.
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Saturday, December 24, 2011

A Muslim’s Christmas, Huffington Post


As a Muslim I will be celebrating Christmas, recommitting myself to listen to Jesus and follow his path. And in my Islamic tradition, I will reflect on chapter 19 of Quraan, dedicated to Maryam, Mother Mary, and pray on his birthday. I will pray that we all honor his message of creating peace and building cohesive societies where no one has to be apprehensive of the other. Amen!

Continued: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/a-muslims-christmas_b_1167258.html



Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace; he is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and several nationally syndicated radio talk shows. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam in America. Mike's work is reflected in several websites and blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/.
 

Thanks to Dallas Morning News and Sean Hannity

We hope to create comprehensive leadership programs to produce public leaders who would be committed to work towards building a cohesive America and put America's interests ahead of their own. 


Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace; he is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and several nationally syndicated radio talk shows. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam in America. Mike's work is reflected in several websites and blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Bigotry against Hinduism in Russia

Incredible attack on the Holy Bhagvad Gita
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/12/bigotry-against-hinduism-in-russia.html



You and I have allowed blatant bigotry to be preached on our land unquestioned and unchecked. The damned thing is contagious and spreading to Russia and other nations. Bigotry exists not because of bigots, but because we have not spoken out against it.


Six years ago in December of 2006, the Archbishop of Russia called Krishna a Satan, and five years ago, the city of Moscow made serious attempts to usurp the land belonging to Krishna Temple. Of course, a few of us wrote about it and now per the news reports, the “Bhagvad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, is facing a legal ban and the prospect of being branded as "an extremist" literature across Russia. A court in Siberia's Tomsk city is set to deliver its final verdict Monday in a case filed by state prosecutors.” I would have never thought this day would come, when Bhagvad Gita would be attacked, the sacred text of Hinduism, it is rather a dialogue on reflections of one's conscience. It is one of the best self help books to find answers to the eternal questions about righteousness and one's duty to the self and the world. Hinduism is not a proselyting religion and Bhagvad Gita should not threaten any one of those weak men of religion.

The Holy Qur'aan has been deliberately mistranslated by medieval European Kings to paint Islam in bad light so they can frighten their subjects and buy their loyalty, and of course a Muslim Hilali Khan matched those kings and injected words into the translations that were not in Quraan, he wanted to build up ill-will against Jews and Christians for his presumed gain to restore the Caliphate. He has mistranslated nearly 60 Verses of Quraan. Fortunately there are still 20+ translations that are good, and thank God for that, the Arabic text has remained intact, although a group of proselytizing Christians have made attempts to mis-write Arabic version of Quraan in late eighties and distribute it in Kuwait. The best available translation is by Muhammad Asad, even this needs updating, but a good guide.

The attacks on Quraan and Bhagvad Gita are not based on knowledge but based on selling hate and collecting cash from the gullible congregants who trust the fox that guards the hen, all in the name of the man who taught to tell the truth and love thy enemy.



The good news is this bigotry is controllable, it has afflicted less than a percent of the population, and all of us together have to work on keeping those cancer cells from multiplying and harming our civilization and our civility.

I urge Non-Hindus to pick up the phone and call the Russian Embassy, if you cannot stand up for others, why should anyone stand up for you? The least you can do is fax a few words to their embassy “This is not a good thing” or write your comments at www.facebook.com/speakermikeghouse or in the comment section of www.Theghousediary.com

Russian Embassy
2650 Wisconsin Ave, NW
Washington, CD 2007
Tel: 202-298-5700
Fax: 202-298-5735


Please remain polite and ask their government to take responsible action and not let a few among them dictate a national policy. We are a small world, interdependent, interconnected and one fragile unit. Let’s preserve it.


When Robert Jeffress, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, Herman Cain, Tom Tancredo, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and a bunch of talk show hosts spewed hate against fellow Americans, very few of us have spoken out against them in public medium, and they take that as an encouragement and spill out more. You and I are further responsible for remaining silent, when they make shameless comments against Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Wicca, GLBT, Hindus and other. This is not the America we want, nor is this world we like to see. We have to enter into a positive dialogue with a singular goal of building cohesive societies where none of us have to live in apprehension of the other.


We hope to resume the workshops on Religion, every religion to remove the myths about each religion. http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2007/04/understanding-hinduism-workshops-by.html
Mike Ghouse is committed to do his share of building a cohesive world and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net and his current articles can be found at www.Theghousediary.com
 

Sunday, December 18, 2011

My Sermon at Pathway Unitarian Universalist Church, South Lake

It’s a blessing to understand the beauty and wisdom of many a religious traditions and most certainly, I find a common ground at the Unitarian Universalist Church, a universal place of worship where all traditions are welcome. If you unchain yourselves from any pervious conditioning about a faith or a tradition, your boundlessness will offer the joys of seeing the beauty in every tradition. I thank God for blessing me with no boundaries.

My sermon was about three key points.

Finding the truth is your own responsibility, as truth relives one from anguish, ill-will and pain. No matter who tells you what about others, you are the one to live through the anguish and not them. It behooves for you and I to find the truth for our own peace of mind.

Personal responsibility in creating a cohesive society, I cannot be safe when what surrounds me is not, I cannot be at peace when there is no peace around me, if I threaten others, I am the most frightened one in my vulnerable moments.

Patience is a virtue. Nothing happens instantaneously, the seed has a plan, a program and process till it yields a flower, and it took me sixty years to be at this point in life. Living a regret free life is the key to successful living.

I share the personal story of tying the loose ends of life and finding liberation. It is living a successful life free from anxieties, apprehension and in union with the self and the loved ones.

Mike Ghouse
Committed to build a cohesive America
www.MikeGhouse.net

Saturday, December 3, 2011

ACT for America, a hate producing organization

I was surprised to find this on the ADL site without a condemnation or support. I thought they stood up for the rights of Americans, and I hope it is all Americans. Indeed, America Together Foundation is launched now to build a cohesive America, inspired by Brigitte, who and I spar on Hannity frequently.

Mike Ghouse
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ACT! for America is an organization dedicated to combating what it describes as "the threat of radical Islam" to the safety of Americans and to democracy. ACT! promotes the idea that Islam is a backward and seditious political ideology and that Muslim immigration to the U.S. must end.
The organization was launched in 2007 and is constructed around the persona of its founder and president, Brigitte Gabriel, who came to the U.S. in 1989. Gabriel's personal story of growing up Christian in Lebanon and as "a survivor of Islamic terror" is featured prominently in ACT!'s publications and is often cited in speeches by its leadership.
In her writings and public appearances, Gabriel often portrays Islam as a threat. In her book They Must Be Stopped; Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It, she wrote, "It is not yet politically correct to talk about a religious war. But this is exactly what we are facing: a religious war declared by devout Muslims….It's not radical Islam. It's what Islam is at its core."
Gabriel claims that 20 percent of all Muslims support a radical form of Islam that justifies suicide terrorism and works for the establishment of a global totalitarian Islamic state. She further claims that "tens of thousands of Islamic militants now reside in America operating in sleeper cells, attending our colleges and universities, even infiltrating our government."
Gabriel's views are in line with a growing field of groups that use community concerns about Islamic extremism to stoke fear toward the Muslim community at large. Among other groups that promote an extreme anti-Muslim agenda are Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE).
ACT!'s advocacy is focused on combating what it perceives as "Islamofascism" or "cultural Jihad," and on countering what it describes as a culture of "festering political correctness." ACT! argues that there is a "rising tide of Islamofascism in our midst" and that it is "political correctness that is aiding its advance."
The group warns of the dire consequences of losing a "war against Islamofascism," which, according to ACT!, will result in a global Islamic state in which Americans will "live under Shari'a Law." It further claims that the process of Islamization of America is long under way. According to Gabriel, "America has been infiltrated on all levels by radicals who wish to harm America. They have infiltrated us at the CIA, at the FBI, at the Pentagon, at the State Department. They are being radicalized in radical mosques in our cities and communities within the United States."
Though its leaders have denied being motivated by bigotry against Muslims, the group often argues against the distinction between radical and mainstream Islam. ACT! posted to its Web site an article titled "Stop Muslim immigration to the United States" which directs readers to a online petition calling for a moratorium on immigration from Muslim countries. The article, which is still available on ACT!'s Web site, explains: "WE HAVE NO way of determining which Muslims subscribe to pure Islam. The reason this matters is that pure Islam is seditious…We should stop all immigration into free countries by Muslims while we can."

ACT!'s national structure, which includes dozens of chapters across the country, enables it to effectively spread its message and work with various groups, including those affiliated with the Tea Party movement. The group claims to be "the largest national security grassroots organization" with "500 chapters and 155,000 members nationwide."
ACT! has sought to build on its grassroots support through its lobbying efforts and has been involved in legislations to block Shari'a, or Islamic law, at the state level. In Oklahoma, for example, it ran radio advertisements in support of ballot State Question 755, known as "Save Our State," which was approved by the voters in the November 2010 elections. It is currently promoting similar legislations in other states, including Florida, California and Pennsylvania.
Seeking to become even more influential in politics, ACT! has produced voter guides and congressional scorecards that focus on candidates' performances on issues "related to national security and the threat of radical Islam." It employs a full time lobbyist on Capitol Hill, Lisa Piraneo, who is officially titled ACT!'s Director of Government Relations.
Among its online initiatives is an internet based television show that is anchored by Gabriel and ACT!'s executive director Guy Rodgers, a veteran strategist who has worked with prominent Evangelical leaders. The first guest to appear on the show, which was aired on February 2011, was Congressman Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
The Web sites of some local ACT! chapters publish materials that reflect the views of its leadership. For example, the Web site of ACT! chapter in Space Coast, Florida, has a section titled "Islam is Fire," which argues that "Islam is Satan's chief 'deception' play…It is not 'fanatical', 'radical', or 'extreme' Islam that we are fighting, but normal, orthodox, canonical, typical, accepted, traditional Islam, straight from the mouth of Muhammad."
ACT! was formed in 2007 as an outgrowth of a American Congress for Truth, which was established by Gabriel in 2002 as a vehicle to promote her views about Islam and security, as well as her books and public appearances. American Congress for Truth, later renamed as Act! for America Education, continues to operate as a separate non-profit tax-exempt organization. But, as Guy Rodgers explains, "both organizations fulfill functions essential to the vision and long-term objective, which is the rolling back of the threat of radical Islam."
In recent years, Gabriel has enjoyed a growing popularity, making hundreds of appearances at political gatherings, in churches and synagogues. She has also met with politicians and world leaders and has lectured to mainstream non-sectarian audiences.
ADDITIONAL LINKS

Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)


Courtesy : http://www.adl.org/main_Interfaith/act_for_america_gabriel.htm

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Female Genital Mutilation among Bohra Muslims - A report

 

I applaud the courage of Mr. Danish Ahmed for reporting this issue head on in his magazine Indian Muslim Observer. There is a lot that goes on in our societies, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and Sikh or otherwise, in this instance a large number of Bohra Muslim Women are being genitally mutilated in secrecy, as it is an illegal practice within several cultures.

Even if one woman, Muslim or otherwise is deprived of her God given pleasures of life, it must be stopped. Standing up against oppression is one big aspect of being a Muslim.
Injustice to anyone and particularly women will eat away the morality of the society from within. Oppression cannot go on for long. Every religion has been a medium to restore righteousness in the society, the guidance is universal including Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) who said, the least thing you can do against injustice is to speak up. Speaking up is the right thing to do.

Tasleem deserves the applauding, even though she has endured pain and suffering, she has decided to put an end to this. We need to join her efforts in putting an end to this misery. Certainly, a few men will ridicule it, but she will have her rewards from Allah and the Prophet for the doing the right thing, bringing justice to generations of women. May God bless her.

Warning: The pictures too graphic, especially the one with raw blade. Most of the pictures are from Africa to illustrate the point and perhaps due to the limited availability of such practices.

This is a horrendous practice that all of us must stop. I can hear a few Muslims, just a handful of Muslims in each Muslim gathering asking this to the Danish Ahmed.

1.
Why did he not talk with the community first?
2.
Why did he have to feed the right wingers with more to belittle Muslims?
3. Is there an empirical data to claim 90% of Bohra community practices this?

It is quite possible that His Highness Syedna Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslims may not be aware of this practice happening right under his nose, just as CIA did not see Mubarak's exit or the seedlings for the protests in the Middle East, ISI and Pakistani Military did not know Osama Bin Laden was hiding right in their own backyard and Mossad has been wrong about Iran and other pronouncements.

Obviously the issue is simmering for a long time, but no one may have dared the establishment, and even possible that the protests were put down. As Muslims we need to give full support to this movement that is what makes us Muslims; to speak up and do everything possible to bring justice to every human in the society.

If we don’t fulfill our responsibility, the suffering will go on further, but it will affect us all of us. This is not a Bohra issue, nor the Muslim issue; it is the human rights issue. It’s not them, it is us, we are all in this together to create a better society for each one of us and it reflects and affects us all.

I do hope the Syedna will make a quick call to end this practice, if he has not already done. Please do the least thing you can do – sign the petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/hh-dr-syedna-ban-female-circumcision-ladkiyon-par-khatna


By the way, the male circumcision among Jews and Muslims is not the same, it has a history of over 3000 years and it is not done secretly to be evil and further more it is professionally done to ensure the safety of the circumcised.  The following article was cited in cancelling the bill to ban circumcision in San Francisco and Santa Monica.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/circumcision-satire_b_872270.html

Mike Ghouse
Muslims together committed to cohesive and just societies
www.IslamTogetherFoundation.com